Geo 101 Exam 1 Study Guide1. What is science? A method for learning about the natural world. Often referring to the body of knowledge acquired through the method2. What are the four main parts of the scientific method, and what happens during those phases? i. Hypothesis – a proposed explanation for a specific problem. Has explanatory power. Can be tested by further investigation. ii. Prediction – what we would expect to happen or what we would expect to observe if this idea were accurate. Can be about past, present, or future. iii. Evidence – test results and/or observations that may either help support or help refute a scientific idea. Answers a specific questioniv. Data – information gleaned from observations (usually observations that are made in a standardized way. Systematic collection. NOT anecdotal information. Direct observation is NOT needed. 3. What is the difference between a hypothesis and a prediction? A hypothesis has explanatory power while a prediction does not. 4. What is the difference between evidence and data? 5. What is peer review? Other scientists (the community) reviewing your works. A method of vetting articles. Articles submitted to a peer-reviewed publication are sent out to several scientists who work in the same field as the paper's author. Those reviewers provide feedback on the article and tell the editor of the publication whether or not they think the study is of high enough quality to be published.6. When is a theory proven? A theory does NOT prove things7. Who are scientists and where do they work? Work in big universities, government agencies, and industries. 8. Where do scientists get the money for research and how do they use it? Scientists get their money from industry consumers, government grants, and non-profit organizations. They use it to go back into research and to keep institutions going. 9. Common reasons for misunderstanding scientific resultsi. Causation v. Correlation – correlation does not imply causationii. Anecdotal evidence – claiming non-factual information based on experiences of a few people iii. Confirmation bias – the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theoriesiv. Common sense – 10. What is geology and what do geologists study? Geology is the study of the Earth and geologists study different aspects of the earth11. Why is geology important? To learn the history of the earth. Geologists study the formation and composition of the earth, causes of earthquakes and ice ages, and practical problems such as groundwater contamination and howto find oil and minerals.12. What are some of the major geologic resources of Alabama? Industrial mineral and coal, oil, and gas 13. How old are the universe and earth? 13.7 billion years old – universe. 4.5 billon years old - earth14. How was the moon formed? First, dust and ice particles collide and stick together. These balls of dust and ice continuously collide forming planets. Gravity reshapes the earth into a sphere. Soon after the earth forms a small planet collides with it, blasting debris that forms a ring around the earth. The moon forms from the ring of debris. 15. What does the Big Bang theory explain? How the universe was created16. What are the three main pieces of evidence for the Big Bang? 17. What are the major layers of the earth? Crust, mantle, core18. What are their major properties (liquid/solids; hot/cold)? i. Crust is thin, cool, and crunchyii. Upper mantle is thicker, warmer, also crunchyiii. Lower mantle is warm, thick, gooeyiv. Outer core is hot, liquidv. Inner core is super hot, solid 19. How do we know the size and composition of the layers? Seismology (study of energy waves underneath the earth), waves move differently through different materials, velocity, wave paths in the earth20. What are the lithosphere and asthenosphere? i. Lithosphere – crust and upper mantleii. Asthenosphere – lower mantle, outer core, inner core21. What is a tectonic plate? A piece of lithosphere (crust and upper mantle)22. What are the two types of tectonic plates? Oceanic and continental23. Name six pieces of evidence that tell us the continents moved. i. Shape of continentsii. Paleozoic glacier depositsiii. Ancient climate beltsiv. Distribution of fossilsv. Distributions of ancient rocksvi. Paleomagnetism24. What is sea-floor spreading and continental drift, and what is the evidence for them? i. Continental drift – continents had once been joined together to form a huge supercontinent and had subsequently drifted apart.ii. Sea-floor spreading – new sea floor forms at mid-ocean ridges, above aband of upwelling mantle, then spreads symmetrically away from the ridge axis. Eventually, the ocean floor sinks back into the mantle at deep-ocean trenches. 25. What are the categories and subcategories of plate boundaries, and what happens at each? i. Divergent boundariesi. Two plates move apart1. Mid-ocean ridgea. Higher, hotter rocks being made pushes down on the less dense rocks and the cooling creates topography2. Continental rifta. Divergent boundary in continents (pieces of continent ripped in half)b. Heat rises and pushes volcanoes up spewing out oceanic crust ripping continents apartii. Convergent boundariesi. Subduction Zone1. Cold ridged piece of lithosphere (oceanic crust) sinks into earth and cracks and twists while getting pulled down under the earth creating earthquakes2. Volcano formations (ocean/continent)3. Volcanic islands are within ocean (ocean/ocean)ii. Collision1. Continent/continent (form giant mountain ranges) continents being forced together iii. Transform boundaries i. Two plates sliding past one another1. Mostly ocean/oceanii. Fracture zones1. Active is transform boundary2. Inactive is no longer boundary – part of plate 26. Why are there earthquakes and volcanoes associated with subduction zones? 27. What is a hot spot volcano? A spot of heat coming up from the earth and there’s a volcano. As a plate moves over the hot spot, the volcano moves off and dies, and a new volcano forms over the hot spot. 28. What causes the movement of tectonic plates? i. Ridge push (high stuff pushing down on low stuff)i. Gravityii. Slab pull (in subduction zones)i. Gravityiii. Influence of convection disputed29. What are the parts of an atom? Protons, neutrons, electrons, and other subatomic particles30. What is an isotope? A chemical element that has more or less neutrons than it should and effects the weight 31.